Chase_Witherspoon Surprisingly tense account of allied forces operating behind enemy lines in WWII France, infiltrating enemy strongholds and generally destabilising the occupation in collaboration with resistance fighters. Canadian Robert Beatty and Scot Gordon Jackson are the principals protagonists, teaming up with Simone Signoret in an elaborate game of cross and double cross, evading the Germans while they attempt to rescue one of their own.Great cast with Jack Warner as the convivial commando (belying his autumn age), while Jackson and Beatty are the more intense agents, the former engaging in a rather unlikely romance with Signoret's character, herself a highly capable spy and willing to pull the trigger as required. Burly JRJ is the puppet master overseeing the covert operations, while Paul Dupuis has a memorable role as a turncoat doing everything he can to aid and abet the allied rearguard.There's two or three very memorable moments in this film, and a relative surfeit of violence for its late-forties vintage - the Signoret-Warner scene is quite brutal and unexpected. Good use of sets and exteriors, and while there's a few clichés, I found it quite an addictive film that holds the attention pretty well.

Alex da Silva A group of uninteresting people are sent into Belgium to blow up a records office and rescue some bloke from prison. Can they succeed?Unfortunately, there is no-one in the cast that anyone can identify with who is in the film for long enough. Gordon Jackson is dreadfully annoying as "Johnny", the schoolboy explosives expert who is out of his depth. Paul Dupuis is the best of the cast as "Picquart", the undercover Gestapo officer who sticks his neck out to help the very annoying Gordon Jackson. Simone Signoret is OK as "Michele" the radio operator but this role could equally have been played by Gisele Preville who played "Julie".Indeed the film has 3 good sections that stick in the mind. One is the shot of "Julie" lying in the field after her parachute jump, staring at the sky and obviously very dead. It's the most shocking image from the film. The second is the scene where "Michele" discovers that her colleague is a traitor while they are sharing a quiet moment in their hideout. And the third is the scene where "Picquart" is trapped in his Nazi office and has to act quickly. That's it. Most of the rest of the film is dull and unengaging. It takes an hour or so before anything of interest happens.A mention goes to Jack Warner as "Max". How on earth did England win a war with lard buckets like him in the army. What a heffalump! And what is the romance between "Michele" and "Johnny" all about? A complete nonsense. There are a few interesting sections but the film disappoints overall.

michael-dixon22 First the good bits and that mainly centres around Simone Signoret, who as usual is excellent. But this poses a problem, for the "love-affair" of the film, which involves her and a young Gordon Jackson who looks and acts as though he had never been out of Cowdenbeath. So hardly the material to interest a sophisticated European lady as played by Ms. Signoret. Not good casting, indeed one of the more ridiculous romantic combinations in the history of motion pictures.That being said the film, in black and white, has some atmosphere, tension and you feel that you are there, which is important. The rather bizarre casting continues, however, with the unlikely scenario of a rather elderly Jack Warner playing the part of a commando. Still if he was still an active policeman at 80 years of age in Dixon of Dock Green , who are we to argue with his credentials. In addition he is part of the two most memorable scenes in the film, one when he meets the Irish girl working for the Germans and secondly when he has to contend with a very angry Ms. Signoret holding a pistol.James Robertson Justice is, as always, very believable as the organiser of the missions working from base and there are some good supporting actors who play around his character. For some reason the part played by John Slater irritated me from start to finish, though the rest of the cast, including Robert Beatty, were sound if a touch wooden.I would summarise this film as a pleasant and nostalgic way to spend a rainy afternoon and if it is on sale for around £5 then worth a look.

geoffholman2003 this is an excellent film of the mid Ealing period Critchton's tight direction and Bridgewaters music intertwined with each characters role in the film is truly marvellous! as time has passed all but one of the cast members have died, with the exception of Giselle Preville who plays Julie the wireless operator. i have watched this film many times and cannot get enough of the opening score by Bridgewater. i throughly recommend this film as an all time Ealing great, although many Ealing aficionados will probably not agree, as it received a very Luke warm reception in 1948 possibly due to public tiredness of all things to do with war.